Embodiments of this invention relate to a semiconductor device, a method of packaging a semiconductor device, a method of mounting a semiconductor device, and refers particularly, though not exclusively, to packaging of a semiconductor device possessing thermal dissipation structure.
Various types of semiconductor packages exist where the semiconductor is encapsulated in resin. In some types of encapsulated devices the semiconductor die is located on a die pad. The die pad is part of the metal leadframe. The die pad may be exposed on one face to allow better thermal dissipation. In other cases the die pad may be covered by a portion of the resin encapsulate known as an isolation thickness.
For high power applications, for example, a Transistor Outline (“TO”) package, it may be necessary to attach the TO package to an external heat sink to dissipate the heat generated by the transistor. Some TO packages include a screw hole for mounting the TO package to an external heat sink.